H. Douglas Byles papers, 1923-2012, bulk Bulk, 1943-1995

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Summary

Creators:
Byles, H. (Howard) Douglas, 1923-2003, Rudolph, William, and Weston, Eugene III, 1923-2012
Extent:
60.0 Linear feet (124 flat file folders, 1 half record storage box, 2 oversize flat** boxes)
Language:
Preferred citation:

H. Douglas Byles papers. Architecture and Design Collection, Art Design & Architecture Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara

Background

Scope and content:

Architectural drawings and sketches, most are graphite on paper, comprise the bulk of the collection. Also included are newspaper clippings about Byles's projects and professional and community work, a handful of photographs of built work (black-and-white prints and color snapshots), and personal information about Byles in the form of photographs and letters.

Biographical / historical:

H. Douglas Byles was born in Evenston, Ill. on February 11, 1923. He earned a B.A. in architecture and planning from the University of Southern California, 1949. His military service included active duty in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve, 1942-1946, and in Korea, 1951-1952.

Byles's practice was primarily in the Pasadena area of Southern California. In the last years of his life he lived and worked in Atascadero, California, where he died in 2003.

In circa 1946, Byles worked briefly in the office of Whitney Smith, alongside Eugene Weston, III, his future partner. His earliest work as a builder/architect in the late 1940s-early 1950s, was done in partnership with Weston and William Rudolph, but from about 1954 until his death, Byles operated a one-man office and was responsible for circa 200 commissions. Byles's architectural practice was primarily residential, with some commercial and public projects.

Byles was actively involved in the cultural life of Pasadena, serving on the Advisory Board of the Gamble House, and on planning, arts, cultural heritage, and preservation committees in the city from the early 1960s through the late 1980s.

Influenced by the work of Frank Lloyd Wright, Byles's work shares the regional modernism of many of his fellow graduates of the University of Southern California in the post-WWII years. According to his son Stuart, H. Douglas Byles was a quiet, elegant, and gracious man who believed that architecture should have those qualities as well.

Custodial history:

The archive remained with the Byles family after the death of H. Douglas Byles and was donated to UCSB by the family in early 2017.

Arrangement:

The papers are arranged in 2 series: Personal and professional documents; Architectural projects.

Physical location:
Mosher flat files - drawings ADC regular - box 1 ADC oversize - box 2* and box 3*
Rules or conventions:
Describing Archives: A Content Standard

Indexed terms

Names:
Byles, Stuart

Access and use

Restrictions:

Open for use to qualified researchers.

Terms of access:

H. Douglas Byles's copyrights have been transferred to the UC Regents.

Preferred citation:

H. Douglas Byles papers. Architecture and Design Collection, Art Design & Architecture Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara

Location of this collection:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara, CA 93106-7130, US
Contact:
(805) 893-2724
adc@museum.ucsb.edu
Website